CONVENTIONAL wisdom tells you that making a sequel is risky.

Will it be as good as the original? Will it just retread the same ground? Has the magic formula vanished? Thankfully this dilemma never seems to apply to Pixar which has made some of the most beautiful animated stories committed to film.

Finding Dory shows there is no sign of the Californian team stopping anytime soon. Forget cynical cash-ins, this follow-up to Finding Nemo ticks all the right boxes.

It is heartwarming, compelling, genuinely entertaining for all ages and features a wealth of voice talent while the animation and attention to detail is staggering.

Set a year after Finding Nemo, Andrew Stanton’s story sees Dory, (Ellen DeGeneres), a blue tang with short term memory loss finally remember that she was separated from her parents when she was young.

She sets out to find them with clown fish Nemo (Hayden Rolence) and his dad Marlin (Albert Brooks) as they find themselves in Sigourney Weaver’s Marine Life Institute as more visions from Dory’s past return to the forgetful fish.

New character Hank (Ed O’Neill) the octopus, sorry septopus (he lost one of his tentacles) is great making a convincing journey from selfish mollusc to courageous friend in the short film. And Idris Elba stands out as Fluke, the sea lion, offering a bit of comedy relief.

This animated tale about the importance and meaning of family is fantastic and if ‘good tears’ do not fill your eyes by the end there is something wrong with you.

DAVID MORGAN